Pneumatic water-elevator



(No Model.)

0. PERRY. PNEUMATIC WATER ELEVATOR. No. 382,324. Patented Ma'y'8, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Erich.

THOMAS 0. PERRY, or TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN.

PNEUMATIC WATER-ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,324, dated May. 8,18188.

Application filed August 526, 1886. Serial No. 211,888. (No model.)

, To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS O. PERRY, a cltizen of the United States,residing at Tecumseh, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Pneumatic ater-Elevator, of which the followlng is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of water-elevators inwhich water is elevated by direct pressure on the water exerted by thetension of compressed air or other gaseous fluid; and the object of myinvention is to provide improved automatic mechanism for controlling theingress and egress of air to and from the chambers from which water isdriven and elevated, and also to insure greater economy of power intheuse of compressed air by allowing a portion of the air which elevatesWater to work expansively within the Water-pipe.

I The main and distinguishing feature of my invention is the operatingof the valve which controls theingress and egress of air through theinstrumentality of the intermittent displacement of water by air in afloat-chamber, which constitutes an enlarged portion of the plpe throughwhich water is driven or ele I vated, and is so flexibly connectedtherewith as to admit of an upward and downward move ment of thefloat-chamber. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an external elevationof the entire machine. Fig. 2 is a plan of the floatchamber andconnections with water pipe, supposing the hinged water-ways S S to bein horizontal position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the centerof the water-pipe and 1n a plane containing the axis of the floathinge.Fig. 4 is a side view of the parts immedlately connected with therevolving airvalve, looking perpendicular to a planeintersecting theangle between the converging pipes E and F. Fig. 5 is an enlargedsectional view of the air-valve and parts immediately connectedtherewith, taken in a plane containing the axis of the air-valve andcenter of pipe F. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the airvalveand parts immediately connected there with, taken in a. plane containingthe axis of the air-valve and center of pipe E. Fig. 7 is an enlargedrear view of the valve-seat, looking at its ground face. Fig. 8 is anenlarged rear view of the revolving air-valve. Fig. 9 is an enlargedfront view of the revolving airvalve, looking at its ground face. Fig.10 is a central sectional view of the float-chamber, taken in a planeparallel with the axis of the float-hinge and perpendicular to thepassage-i.

ways S S. Fig. 11 is a sectional view of one of the water-chambers,taken in avertical plane through its center.

Similar letters refer to similar parts through out the several views.

The water-chambers W are both alike and essentially the same as those ofother waterelevators of this class. They are supposed to be submerged inwater, and are filled through the valves m at the bottom of each. Thewater-pipe Z Z is connected with each of these chambers by branches Z,which pass through the tops of the chambers and extend nearly to theirbottoms. The air-pipes E and F connect with the tops of thewater-chambers. Now, if air is forced into the top of either of thesechambers, water will be driven out and up into the water-pipe. Thecheck-valves a pre vent water from flowing back into the waterchambers.It is required to force air into one of these chambers until it isemptied of water. Then the air must be allowed to escape, so that thechamber may refill, and while one chamber is refilling air should beforced. into the other water-chamber in the same manner as into thefirst, thus emptying first one chamber and then the other and allowingeach to refill in turn. These requirements are common to other pneumaticwater-elevators; but I will now describe my automatic device forregulating the ingress and egress of air to and from the waterchambers,in accordance with the requirements above indicated.

X is a float-chamber constituting a vessel closed except at the top,where it communicates directly with the water-way S, and also with thewaterway S, which has an extension, S, inside of the vessel extendingnearly to the bottom. The water-ways S and S are connected rigidly tothe float-chamber and to each other, but branch and terminate onopposite sides of the casting B in short tubular ends 0 0, having acommon axis. These tubular ends fitover tubular projections O O onopposite sides of casting 13, forming watering from below, and alsoconnecting the tubular end O with the water-pipe Z, entering from above,and interposin g a partition between the parts of the water-pipes Z andZjoined by the casting, so that the water is conveyed up through thepipe Z and around the partition by way of the water-ways S S into thepipe Z, passing on its way through the float-chamber X. On the oppositeside of the hinge from the passage-ways S S, and attached rigidlytherewith, extends an arm, T, upon which is a weight, T, which should beheavy enough to overbalance the weight of the passageways S S and floatchamber X when empty, but should itself be overbalanced when thefloatchamber is full or partly full of water, as will be furtherexplained. An arm, M, rigidly attached to and extending on each side ofthe casting B, serves to limit the angular movement of the arm T andwater-ways S S. The arm M also serves as a support for the valveseat A,which is bolted thereto.

The air-valve-consists of a perforated disk, V, with a central hollowstem, U, which is inserted and turns freely in a hole through the centerof the valve-seat. The adjacent faces of the valve-disk and valve-seatare ground together, so as to be air tight. The ground face of the diskis perforated by six equidistaut openings arranged in a circleconcentric with the axis. Three of these openings, H I H, pass directlythrough the disk, and are alternate with the other three openings, J KK,

which communicate with the hollow stem U. (See Figs. 5 and 6,)

In the ground face of the valve seat are two apertures, I J, the samedistance from the axis and the same distance apart as any consecutivetwo of the six openings in the ground face of the valve-disk. Theseapertures I and J form the terminals, respectively, of the airpipes Fand E, which are screwed into the valve-seat and communicate with thetops of the water-chambers W. The valve-disk is shut in by a cap, 0,which screws onto the valveseat A and forms a terminal to the air-supplypipe G. On the end of the valve-stem U is rigidly secured aratchet-wheel, R, having six teeth, which are engaged by a pawl, P,pivoted to a short arm, L, of the lever L L L, fulcrumed at L about thehub of the ratchetwheel concentrically with the axis of the valvestem.Thelonger arm, L, of the lever is connected with an car on the underside of the water-ways S S by a link, y.

Between the hub of the ratchet wheel and valve-seat are. two metalwashers, between which is an elastic ring, D,-of rubber or cork,

which serves to keep the valve-disk pressed] against the valve-seat.Similar elastic rings, D, and washers are interposed about the tubularprojections O 0 between the casting B and tubular ends 0 O as aconvenient way of preventing leakage at the hinge-joints. faces of themetal washers bear against the tubular ends 0 O. The teeth in theratchetwheel R correspond in number with the openings in the face of thevalve-disk and are six in number, as illustrated, though of course othereven numbers could be used. As connected, the lever L L L will oscillatewith the water-ways S S, and the oscillation must be sufficient to allowthe pawl P to engage successive teeth of the ratchet-wheel and may besomething more. The ratchet-wheel'must be so placed with reference tothe valve-disk that whenever the arm T comes against the The stop-arm Mthe valve-disk shall be so turned about its axis as to bring someconsecutive two of the six openings in the face of the diskinconjunction with the two apertures I J in the face of the valve-seat.Now, if air be forced through the pipe G into the air-valve, its coursewill be directed through conjoining apertures of valve'disk andvalveseat into one of the pipes FE and to the correspondingwater-chamber, V, from which the water will be driven up the water-pipeZ Z Z through the float-chamber X, which will partially'fill with water,so as to overbalance the weight T, and consequently settle down untilits movement is arrested by the stop-arm M. This downward movementallows the pawl P to engage the succeeding tooth of the ratchet wheel R.The air previously contained in the float-chamber would be compressedinto smaller compass by the pressure of the column of water in thewater-pipe Z above. The flow from the water-chamber WV will continueuntil the surface ofthe water rco therein is driven down to a'level withthe A lower end of the pipe Z, after which water will cease to flow fromthe chamber and air will enter the pipe Z, and, following up the pipe Z,will enter the float-chamber, driving the water therefrom until, theweight becoming overbalanced by the opposing weight T,

ner as from the first; but in order that thefioat-chamber X may againpartially fill with water, so as to repeat its downward movement, someof the air with which it was filled when water was driven therefrom mustbe let out. This is accomplished by the expansion of the air in thewater-pipe Z beneath and in the float-chamber after the surface of thewater therein has been driven down to a level with the bottom of thepipe S, when air escapes into the water-pipe Z above, displacing water,rendering the conwith water,

tents of the pipe Z lighter, so that the air still further expands,making the column still lighter, and escapes from the float-chamberuntil its tension is sufficiently reduced to permit the required partialrefilling of the floatchamber with water when its attenuated air hasbecome again compressed by a solid column of water in the pipe Z above.This operation is repeated whenever one of the water-chambers W isemptied of water, and thus the air which enters the waterpipe bydisplacing water therein and in the fioat-chamber' furnishes the powerfor periodicallyrotating the air-valve, which regulates the admissionand escape of air alternately to and from the water-chambers, inaccordance with the requirements already stated.

Another way to dispose of the air which accumulates in the floatchamberX is to make the top ofthe floatchamber communicate with the waterway Sthrough a small aperture. The bent tube Y serves ,such a purpose, and ifthe aperture be suitably small air will not escape through it withsui'ficient rapidity to prevent the accum ulation in the float-chamberof enough air to drive out the water periodically as required, and yetthe accumulated air may all escape from the float chamber before theperiod of accumulation recurs. This method of letting out the airthrough an aperture allows the float chamber to entirely fill andconsequently it may be con siderably smaller than required to be whenthe previously-described method is used. The first method requires alarger float-chamber and nicer adjustment of the balancing-weight T, andthe second method requires asmall aperture, which is more liable tobecome clogged. So to obviate these objections, the tube Y is madesufficiently spacious, and in it is inserted a common service-cock, a,withalever, u, attached, by turning which the passageway may be eitherclosed or opened. A link, y, connects the end of lever 1 with one end ofthe stoparmM in such a way that when the float-chamber is in its lowestposition the passage Y is closed, and when the floatchamber rises to itshighest position the passage Y is opened. This arrangement allows thefloatchamber to entirely fill with water, if necessary, and permits theaccumulated air to readily escape without danger of clogging. In thiscase, as the service-cocku will prevent waste of water, the tube Y neednot connect at all with the waterway S, but may terminate in the openair, so that no air will need to be conveyed through the water-pipe Zabove the casting B, though by letting air into the water-pipe Z thecontents of the pipe are ren dered lighter and the air worksexpansively, insuring greater economy of power used in compressing theair, and makingitpossible to elevate water to a great height with lesstension of air than would otherwise be necessary.

A retardingweight, Q, rigidly connected, as shown, with the oscillatingparts opposes the effort to oscillate in either direction; but itsretarding influence grows continually less after; the float-chambercommences to either rise or fall, and after its center of gravity passesthe vertical plane containing the axis of the hinge the weight Qaccelerates oscillation, thus causing greater promptness of movementafter motion begins. The retarding-weight Q,however, is not regarded aseither new or always essential. A check-valve, n, in the water-pipe justabove the casting B, may be useful to prevent water from flowing backinto the floatchamber from the pipe Z above,- but this check-valve isnot indispensable,

Generally only the water-chambers W are submerged; but the fioatchamberX may also be submerged in water, in which case: the balance-weight Tmay be dispensed with, as the buoyancy of the water would cause thefloatchamber to rise when filled with air.

\Vhat I claimas my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a submergedwaterchamberanddischarge-pipeleadingtherefrom, having at a point higherthan the level of the water in which said chamber is submerged anextending arm which formsapart ofthe course of discharge of the waterthrough said pipe, and which is adapted to oscillate up and down andwhich comprises a float-chamber, an airduct leading into said submergedchamber, a revolving valve controlling the passage of compressed airthrough said duct and alternately admitting and excluding the same, andsuitable connections whereby the oscillating arm of the Water'dischargepipe actuates said valve, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2; In combination with a pair ofsubmerged chambers, discharge-ductsleading therefrom, respectively, and the common discharge-pipe intowhich the said ducts communicate, said discharge-pipe having at a pointhigher than the level of the water in which the said cham= bers aresubmerged an extending arm forming a part of the water-course throughsaid dischargepipe, and adapted to oscillate up and down and comprisinga floatchamber, two airrducts leading into the submerged chambers,

respectively, a revolving valve at the junction of such ducts, admittingcompressed air to the said chambers alternately, and suitable connections whereby the oscillating arm of the water-discharge pipeactuates the revolving valve, substantially as set forth.

3. In apneumatic water-elevator, the waterway having an extending armforming part of the water-course, adapted to oscillate up and down andcomprisinga float-chamber, in combination with a pair of submerged waterchambers, airducts opening into them, a revolving air-valve at thejunction of said ducts, and a ratchet-wheel and pawl actuated by theoscillation of the float chamber, whereby the valve is rotated so as tofeed each duct alternatel y, substantially as set forth.

4. In a pneumatic water-elevator, in combination with the water-way Z,stop-arm M,

casting B, the float chamber X at the end of said arm, air-ducts openinginto the water- I 5 chambers, a revolving air-valve at the junction ofsaid.ducts, a ratchet-wheel and pawl actuated by the oscillation of thefloat-chamber, the air-vent y, service-cock u, and link y,

all combined substantially as and for the pur- 2o pose set forth.

THOMAS o. PERRY.

Witnesses:

WM. B. SMITH, J. N. SATTERTHWAITE.

